Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Christmas, food, food, food

Hello, and happy Boxing Day. It is a holiday here too, and tomorrow also seems to be one, all shops being closed. If one hadn’t been thinking, one could easily be caught unprepared and not have the necessities to last. We have a freezer full of bread, but are down to our last toilet roll… let’s hope it lasts until Wednesday.

Our Christmas was most pleasant. For Christmas Eve, we had an elderly widow, Dot, over to join us for the evening. She is an ex-pat, and a dear old lady who loves the Lord. We had lasagna, salad and garlic bread for supper, along with a bottle of Chamdor (non-alcoholic champagne) which we were given. Pudding was fridge tart. All very delicious. Then we started opening a few presents, then Skyped my family, then finished opening presents. The boys got to bed at about 8, not too late, and Nick took Dot home shortly thereafter. Our Christmas Day services (there were three in the various locations, 08h00, 10h00 and 11h30, the last one being in Jamestown) were poorly attended. It seems the women stay home to cook. Nick preached well though, on Isaiah 9:6-7. After the service we went to Teddy and Brenda (uncle Teddy and aunty Brenda have babysat, you may remember I have mentioned them) for lunch, which was as we expected – lots of food. We had turkey, beef and gammon, roast potatoes, rice, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, peas, corn and beetroot. Pudding was ice-cream (provided by us), Christmas pudding (best avoided), apple crumble, custard, and peaches and mango slices. We ate lots, and pulled crackers – I got a plastic puzzle which you assemble into a ball which kept me busy for quite a while. We left at about 3.45, and the boys slept when we got home. As also expected, I was given lots of leftovers – just a little, she said, which turned out to be enough for supper last night and enough for tonight. Turkey, beef, potatoes and Brussels.

The boys were thoroughly spoiled at Christmas, to the point where they can’t decide which gifts to play with. From us they got transformers and bouncy balls, and superhero capes and masks. Nick and I received Chamdor, chocolates, and chocolate covered biscuits. How we are going to get through it all I don’t know. Brenda also gave me a “few” chocolates “for the boys”. A whole ice-cream tub of chocolates, which the boys will most certainly not be having much of! We have to think of their teeth… Well, I did a good 25-minute workout this morning to an exercise video.

Aaron’s bee-stung thumb got worse, the swelling spreading to his hand as well. He couldn’t even bend his thumb which was thick and hard. So I took him to hospital on Friday afternoon. Dr Topliss was wandering around so he had a look, and prescribed some antihistamine syrup and a cortisone cream. Both took effect, and today it is almost back to normal. Still slightly swollen, but not hard and immobile anymore. His knee is still hurting him and he walks around with one hand pulling up his pants leg so the material doesn’t rub against the scab. I put a plaster on but he cried until I took it off. We painted their faces this morning (Nick painted Caleb into a cat and I transformed Aaron into a scary monster with black lips). We took pictures.